Governors of all three states met Tuesday to come up with a strategy that just may result in an answer to the decades-old battle over an eventual water sharing agreement.
Since 1990, officials in the three states have been grappling with how to allocate water from the two river basins they share, stemming from the need for more drinking water in metro Atlanta. But little progress has been made.
A federal judge’s order in July was the first step in the right direction -- ruling that Georgia’s own strategy of withdrawing significant amounts of water from its Lake Lanier reservoir is not acceptable. He further ruled that if the states and Congress didn’t reach an agreement on water sharing by 2012, the allowable limits to be withdrawn would revert to 1970s levels, when Atlanta was a much smaller population.
His deadline coupled with the governors of all three states leaving office in 2010 has those states’ chief executives in a more cooperative mood. They want an end to water wars during their terms.
It has the makings of a compromise all can live with, and negotiating teams from all three states are about to begin work to craft it.
It is the first glimmer of hope in a long line of disappointments. Emerging with an agreement and avoiding more court battles is the right route, and it is encouraging that all three governors are heading in that direction.
Post a Comment
